


Don't Stray Too Far

by CorranBlue



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Falling In Love, Flashbacks, Idiots in Love, M/M, Major Character Injury, Separation Anxiety, Sorry Not Sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-13
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:22:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23123185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CorranBlue/pseuds/CorranBlue
Summary: Obi-Wan and Cody are separated during an ambush. They don’t know how it happened, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is someone gets severely injured.
Relationships: CC-2224 | Cody & Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Comments: 30
Kudos: 142





	1. An Unexpected Separation

**Author's Note:**

> Well here it is, the first part of my angsty story! I hope it makes you feel things! Don't worry, this one will be finished to the end.

Hacking his way out of a swarm of droids, Obi-Wan couldn’t stop for a second. He and his men had been overrun by an unexpected attack while travelling through one of the forests on Naboo. 

Using the force to push away the droids in front of him, he pivoted to face those behind him. Their gleaming metal exteriors would have blinded him, they used to blind him, but Obi-Wan was immune now. After so many months and years fighting the separatists, battle was almost second nature to him. Kriff, battle was slowly becoming first nature as the need to protect those he loved grew. The Negotiator was losing patience with the other side.

He slashed through a line of droids preparing to fire on him (seriously, do they never update the programming on these things?), one after another. 

Deflecting blaster fire left and right, Obi-Wan raised his wrist and yelled into the comm, his words punctuated by the zapping all around him. 

“Cody, I don’t see your helmet anywhere. You haven’t gotten into trouble, have you?” He rolled to his left, rising just in time to stop a destroyer from shooting Waxer. 

Waxer briefly nodded his thanks, aiming behind Obi-Wan to take out a different destroyer. Five shots later and it was on the ground. The two fought their way to the edge of the forest, managing to gather a sizable group of troopers. Still no response from Cody. 

Obi-Wan raised his comm again and shouted, “Cody, you had better not be ignoring me! What is your position, commander?” Obi-Wan’s nerves shot up. Droid ambushes were a usual occurrence, losing his commander was not. He quickly took inventory of the situation. Roughly forty men were collected in his group, the rest of the men seemed to be on their feet. Very few were on the ground, but then again the trees were blocking out much of his field of vision. 

They had managed to kill all but a handful of droids. Obi-Wan force jumped over the heads of his men and ran towards the remaining enemy ranks. He hopped from destroyer to destroyer, leaving gaping lightsaber holes in his wake. 

He pulled his weapon from the last droid, determination and fear clouding his mind.

Obi-Wan faced his men, turning his lightsaber off with a crackle. 

“You know the drill, spread out and help the wounded. I’ll call for a few transports from Theed but until then we will have to make do with what we’ve got. Gather the men in the field over there,” He gestured towards the open plains behind them. “And make sure to keep your eyes open for anything unusual. Comm me if you notice anything.”

Obi-Wan heaved a great sigh. 

“And if any of you find my commander, notify me immediately.”

“Sir, yes sir!” The men shouted and rushed off to find their brothers. 

Before calling Senator Amidala for help, he tried Cody one more time. No response. 

He relayed their situation to the senator as swiftly as possible, tension making his voice sharp. His close friend sounded concerned as she responded. 

“Obi-Wan, did you lose many men?” She asked in her gentle way. 

“Not many,” He sighed and shook his head. “But Commander Cody isn’t answering his comm and I haven’t seen him since we were ambushed.”

“You’ll find him,” Amidala’s voice shone with compassion. She, more than anyone, knew what Obi-Wan was going through. 

“I need to keep looking. Come to these coordinates to pick us up, the men are gathering in the field.”

“Understood,” The senator ended their call, clearly in a hurry to organize their retrieval. 

Obi-Wan glanced hopefully around the battlefield, but he did not see his commander, nor anyone waving him over. 

He tried to calm his emotions enough to reach out through the force, trying to isolate his commanders signature amidst all the hectic emotion in the force. 

He gritted his teeth and focused harder, pushed into the force with a question, desperate for an answer. 

The force obliged. And Obi-Wan broke. 

His commander was out there. And he was badly injured.


	2. The One Who Left

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the hastily assembled medical tent, Cody is fighting through his memories to get back to Obi-Wan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy the second chapter of my largest undertaking yet! This chapter is written in honour of (or revenge to?) all the phenomenal Codywan authors from our chat who made me weep today. Here's a taste of that bitter, bitter medicine.

The first time Cody met Obi-Wan he was very unsettled. Here was a man, trained in negotiation and battle, words and swords, who looked so small he could fit in Cody’s pocket, and he was going to be their general. 

Cody saluted his new general and introduced himself.

“CC-2224, sir.”

Again, he was surprised when the general looked distressed. 

“At ease, commander,” Kenobi squirmed a bit. “Do you happen to have a name I could use?”

“Sir?” Cody asked in a halting voice. Didn’t this man know they were clones? 

“A name, commander. Something that isn’t a number,” Kenobi looked up at the sky they were meeting under (a sky the exact shade of blue as his general’s eyes). “A name that shows your uniqueness.”

Cody levelled an evaluating gaze on his new general. He had a sneaking suspicion this man would not be anything like what they trained for on Kamino. 

“Well sir, my vo-brothers call me Cody.”

Kenobi smiled wide, relief breaking his face open. The bright blue of his eyes was blinding, but Cody found himself unable look away. 

“Cody!” the general sang. “I just know you and I are going to have a legendary friendship.”

~

“Cody, Cody!” That voice, it was so familiar. “Cody, you need to wake up!”

Strange. Cody could swear he knew who that voice belonged to. His general? His general-

Cody’s eyes flew open, frantically searching for blue eyes. 

“I’m here Cody, I’m right here.” A strong hand was holding his arm, his general’s eyes swam above him. And that was all Cody noticed before the pain hit. 

His legs were on fire, and his back felt like it had been torn apart by wild animals. 

“What,” He gasped. “What happened? Where are we? General-”

Cody screamed as the pain reached a peak. He had been injured before, but never had he felt such pain. One second it was grounding him in his broken body, the next it was sending him far away. 

The last thing he heard before he blacked out was his dear generals voice telling him to hold on. 

~

Cody was in his general’s cabin playing sabacc with a cheating jedi. 

“Ugh, you jedi are the worst!” Cody threw down his hand in disgust. “You’d think someone bound by a personal code would consider cheating below them.”

Obi-Wan let out a full body laugh. 

“Oh Cody, haven’t you learned by now? The jedi code does not mean as much to me as it once did,” The generals eyes took on an intense look, and all the humour was sucked out of the room.

“Sir-” Cody began, sensing where the conversation was headed. 

“Let me finish, Cody,” Obi-Wan stood up and walked around the table. “I think it’s high time we had this conversation, don’t you?”

Cody could barely manage a nod; he was so caught up in those blue eyes (and his neck hurt. Why did everything hurt?)

“Cody,” Obi-Wan leaned down and put his hands on his commander’s shoulders. “I need to know right now if you feel the same way as me. I need to know if-if you would want-”

Swallowing a great lump in his throat (wait, no he couldn’t breathe), Cody barely nodded his head, hardly daring to hope that the general meant what he thought he did. 

Obi-Wan slowly moved his right hand up to trace Cody’s scar. Cody didn’t dare move, trying not to break whatever spell had fallen. He was suddenly not so sorry he had lost that game of sabacc (he couldn’t open his eyes. But he was staring at his general as he lowered his face).

Obi-Wan brushed his lips across Cody’s, giving him ample time and opportunity to stop the whisper of a kiss if he wanted. Cody didn’t want to. 

Meeting his general’s eyes for one last time, he whispered “I love you, cyare” before fading into the darkness again.

~

Cody opened his eyes to blinding light. He flinched and closed them again, yelling at the pain. 

He-

He couldn’t move. His body was on fire, but oh so cold. His hands were lumps of ice (weren’t they always hot? Isn’t Obi-Wan the one to have cold hands?).

His hand. Someone was holding his hand. Cody tried to grip tighter, knowing it was his general, but all his strength was gone. Fighting to stay alive was taking everything he had in him. 

He knew voices were talking above him, but he couldn’t make out the words. 

He could feel himself drifting away again. He thought he heard a voice yell his name.

“Cody.”

“Cody-” 

“Cody!”

Cody jolted awake. He was back in their room. His arms were wrapped around his general, hugging him close. 

Cody bent down to bury his nose in the soft ginger hair. He breathed in the smell of his love, and he never felt more relaxed. 

~

Obi-Wan was pacing the tent. Kix and Helix were conversing above Cody’s body, and from the sound of it, both medics were tense.

“We can’t give him any more pain meds or his heart rate will drop too low,” Kix’s voice was softer than it had been in ages, a far cry from the usual stern tones he used on the commander/jedi pair. 

Helix rubbed his head with a weary sigh.

“If we could just get him conscious for a few minutes, we might be able to get his brain to the right levels for a bacta tank, but-”

“But he might not make it out of this bed?” Obi-Wan’s voice cut through the worried bickering of the medics. 

“General, we need to be prepared, in case-” Helix’s sympathetic voice was as gentle as it had ever been. 

Kix reached over and placed a hand on his vod’s shoulder. 

“In case Cody can’t pull through this one.”

Obi-Wan aggressively shook his head and beelined for the bed again. He grabbed Cody’s hand and reached into his beloved’s mind, trying to pull him back. 

“Cody, come back to me!”

It was no use. Cody was too far in his haze. And after that last time, Obi-Wan wasn't sure he really wanted Cody to wake up unless the medi-until the medication began to work.


	3. Roadblocks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obi-Wan desperately tries to wake Cody up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has some light feels, but after this chapter feelings will begin for real. Thou hath been warned.

Cody’s body on the bed was ominously still. He was hooked up to so many machines Obi-Wan couldn’t count them all. The worst of them was the oxygen mask covering his beloved’s face. 

Obi-Wan was having a hard time not fully breaking down. Luckily, Senator Amidala took over his role of organizing the men and getting everything looked after. 

Although his and Cody’s relationship was technically private, hidden from the Jedi Council and the public, most of the people closest to them knew. This was highly helpful, especially in times like these where one could not leave the others’ side. 

Obi-Wan sat alone in the tent on a stiff chair beside his commander’s body, trying not to think about how everything had gone so wrong, so fast. One second, they were walking along their path, joking about their unfinished game of dejarik. The next, they were in the middle of a battle for their lives, getting separated in the initial confusion. 

Obi-Wan gently placed his head down on their joined hands. 

What am I going to do? He thought. You are my only direction. 

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and reached out with the force, hoping to draw his lover back. 

He met Cody’s walls and passed them easily enough. They weren’t really there for him. He gazed past the obvious pain his body was in and fought towards his mind. Where are you? 

Obi-Wan found himself surrounded by Cody’s memories running wild in his head, unsorted and unchecked by the mind that normally kept things so orderly and peaceful, so loving. 

He still felt the love, but it was almost aggressive. It seemed like it was trying to protect something. Something, something deep, below where Obi-Wan usually went (even partners need some privacy from one another). 

Resolving to try anything to help his dear, Obi-Wan pushed into the fray and cut right to Cody’s heart. 

And there, at the center of Cody’s being was love for his general. 

Completely surrounded and overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy. 

~

Cody was holding his general close, smelling the scent in his hair that meant safe. 

He was walking along the Jedi Temple halls, and suddenly getting yanked into a supply closet for a tender forehead touching moment. They wouldn’t dare do more in the temple, Cody’s presence in the force tended to get very loud very fast, but these stolen moments were enough to tide them over. 

Cody was in love with his general in so many ways. That’s why it hurt him so much to think that the general settled for him, a clone. A man who shared everything with millions of others. 

Obi-Wan was a Jedi, a warrior, a general. He was force’s gift to sentience. He had gemlike eyes, a silver tongue, the softest hair Cody had ever touched. And he chose to love Cody. Most days, Cody could accept that love for what it was-pure, unbridled devotion and fondness. Other days, he spiraled in sadness, knowing that he was not enough. 

Cody sighed. It was enough that he was here in their room aboard the Negotiator, together with his love. (But why couldn’t he feel his body? Something was wrong. No. If something were wrong, Obi would be trying to help him, not sleeping.)

~

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow in concentration, trying to influence the distressing feelings he found. 

What in the blazes is he thinking? Obi-Wan furiously thought. This man is everything I could never dare to wish for, everything good in my life, and he thinks he’s not enough? 

He sent so many soothing thoughts to his commander, but nothing was sticking. He couldn’t get through to his darling while he was asleep. He needed to wake Cody up. 

Obi-Wan opened his eyes and looked at the normally tan skin of his commander’s face, his heart breaking. Cody looked like he was dying. 

Obi-Wan needed to wake Cody up, and he needed to wake him up now.

~

Cody was sitting in a field of flowers, feeling so very content. Nothing could move him from here. 

His general lay between his legs, his head pushed into Cody’s chest as he pointed out shapes in the clouds. Cody was pretending to see them, but he really couldn’t take his eyes of his general.

Someone was calling him, in his mind. Telling him to wake up. 

Cody shook his head. No, he thought. I’m happy here.

He watched fondly as Obi-Wan reached out with the force to gather flowers, which he began weaving into a crown. 

“A slight misuse of the force never hurt anyone,” The general grinned up at his dear. “Besides, you always did look good in yellow.”

“I never want to leave here,” Cody whispered. 

He thought for a second he saw panic, fear, dread in Obi-Wans eyes, but he simply said okay.

“Okay?” Cody said. 

“Okay.”

~  
No, no no. Obi-Wan yelled in frustration. Cody needed to wake up, not be stuck in some dream. The medics couldn’t do any more for him, they said. They left Cody under Obi-Wan’s eyes. 

If they couldn’t save him, Obi-Wan had to.

“I’m not giving up on you yet, darling.”


	4. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody remembers an important moment in their shared life. Obi-Wan feels more desperate than ever to get his love back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are starting to happen people-things are starting to happen! This is another short one, because I am making myself sad, but the next chapter should be up soon.

So many people had been in and out of the tent at this point. People were doing everything they could think of to try and get Obi-Wan to rest. 

Naturally, Obi-Wan refused to leave his love’s bedside. 

Padmé kept sneaking food into the tent for Obi-Wan, only to whisk it away uneaten. 

Days had passed, and Cody was only getting worse. 

The pallor had sunk deep into his skin, he hardly moved at all anymore. The bacta seemed to fix every external injury, but the internal injuries remained. 

All the medics had been to see Cody, each of them arguing over the best course of action. Nothing worked. 

Obi-Wan knew he had to wake Cody up to fix him, he knew this. The trick was to actually pull it off. 

~

Cody was standing under the bright moonlight facing the only man he had ever loved. His beloved general, his cyare, was holding his hands and gazing into his eyes with a look that combined love, devotion, protectiveness, and excitement. 

Cody knew this day. He knew this day well. They were about to be married. 

The priest they hired completed the simple ceremony, and without any fuss, pomp, or circumstance, the two men were joined in a lasting union. 

Thanks to the Jedi Code (and the GAR regulations), hand-worn rings were a no-go. They opted for matching simple bands around a chain on their necks. 

Cody couldn’t help the grin that filled his face, the joy that thundered through his being. No matter how many times he lived this memory, even now with the pain (so much pain), he still revelled in the fact that his general chose him. 

He chose Cody, CC-2224, out of all the millions of clones in the world, and the billions of unique lives. 

The general believed Cody was special, unique, his own person. It was only here, in his memories, that he could truly accept Obi-Wan’s true love. 

Cody grabbed his love and ran off into the trees toward their waiting hut. This was home for a few days, and they were sure as hell going to make the most of it. 

~

Obi-Wan whipped his head up. He felt it through the Force, his love was thinking about their wedding. Their small, intimate, wonderful wedding. 

“Cody,” He whispered. “Cody, come back to me!” 

There was no reaction from the commander lying on the bed. Not so much as a twitch of the hand Obi-Wan kept a constant grip on. 

“Cody,” He leaned down to whisper in his beloved’s ear. “Remember your vows.”

~

They had originally decided not to write vows, and simply use the ones provided by the priest. They didn’t want to make a big fuss of their wedding, they simply wanted to be permanently joined together. 

The night after their wedding they were in bed, cuddling under the soft blankets. Obi-Wan had his head under Cody’s chin and was drawing lazy circles on his chest. Cody was gently tracing his hand up, and down, Obi-Wan’s arm, creating a delightful shivering in the man. 

Obi-Wan paused his drawing and shifted so he was looing deep into Cody’s eyes. 

“I love you, Cody,” Obi-Wan placed his hand flat on Cody’s chest and leaned in.

“I love you too?” It came out a question. 

Obi-Wan sighed. 

“I’m not always the most confident man, as I’m sure you’re aware,” He laughed and trailed his hand down to Cody’s stomach. “I feel like a disappointment on the best days, and a failure on the worst ones. But-” He cut off Cody’s protests. “But. I promise to you, I will always share my struggles. I know you worry about me, my mind.”

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and rubbed his chin against Cody’ neck, who hummed in delight. 

“Obi-Wan,” He started, haltingly. “I never thought I was special. I was just a clone until you came into my life, one exactly the same as others.”

Obi-Wan paused and opened his eyes again, meeting golden pools of sadness. 

“But,” He continued. “But you, Obi-Wan, made me feel unique. Special, like a natural-born-”

Cody swallowed. 

“Obi-Wan, when I’m feeling unoriginal, or not enough, I will tell you.” Cody tucked his head into Obi-Wan’s shoulder and took a deep breath of his general’s smell, all tea and flowers and grass and life. 

“Obi-Wan,” He murmured. 

He pulled the man fully on top of him and looked in his eyes. 

Something was wrong. Obi-Wan was no longer smiling, the peace and happiness in their small room was gone. 

“Obi-Wan?” He questioned. “What’s wrong?”

“Cody,” Obi-Wan said intently. “Remember your vows.”

With a start Cody opened his eyes. He was in a tent, a medical tent from the looks of it. 

“Cody?” Obi-Wan sat up in the chair, tightening his hold on the man's arm. 

“Obi-Wan…” He rasped.


	5. A Long Awaited Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cody is awake! Obi-Wan consults the force, and gets an answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For what it is worth, I am making myself sad too. For anyone who is crying, I am sorry, but the people in our discord made me so dang sad I needed to get it out of my system. (Don't blame me, blame them? JK, full blame on me. Feel free to scream at me if you need.)

“Cody?” Obi-Wan wanted to rush and get all the medics, but something held him in place.

“Obi-Wan…” Cody whispered, his voice cracking from disuse. 

Obi-Wan grabbed the last water Padmé had left for him and gently held the cup up to Cody’s parched lips, cupping the back of his head in support. He could barely manage to get any down, days of disuse made drinking painful. 

His eyes were closed now, but Obi-Wan could feel that he was awake. His force presence was more active, but it was now full of pain. Obi-Wan tried to decode where the pain was coming from, but he wasn’t having much luck. It seemed like his whole body was revolting against his newfound consciousness. 

“Cody, my dear,” Obi-Wan whispered. “Can you tell me where you are hurt? If you can do that, I might be able to heal you.”

Cody minutely shook his head. 

“My dear commander, tell me where it hurts,” Obi-Wan was running his fingers through Cody’s hair to relax him, sending soothing currents through the force. “Healing you will not drain me, not if I know where I’m going.”

“Obi-” Cody tried to swallow. “Obi-”

Obi-Wan bit back tears at the sheer amount of pain in his love’s eyes. 

“I’m here, darling. I’m here.”

“Ev, everywhere.” Cody’s voice was trembling, something Obi-Wan had never heard before. His commander was normally so controlled, so neat. It was one of the things Obi-Wan loved most about him. The weakness in his voice was what solidified the fear in Obi-Wan’s heart. Desperation began to set in. 

“Cody, Cody please,” His commander opened his eyes to groggily look at his jedi. 

“Ner’jetii. Ni ceta, ni ceta.” Cody lightly squeezed their joined hands. “Don’t, don’t cry for, me.”

Tears were flowing freely down Obi-Wan’s face now as he held the gaze of the one he loved. 

“I’m not,” Cody started. “I’m not, enough for you. You need, someone to take care of you. I, I can’t, not now.”

“Listen to me, commander. You aren’t dying.” Obi-Wan used his general voice on Cody, which was a rare occurrence. “That is an order.”

Cody let out an amused huff. 

“Just sit tight Cody, and I will see what I can do.”

Obi-Wan removed his left hand from Cody’s hair and his right hand from Cody’s left, moving to place them on his heart and stomach. Reaching out with the force, Obi-Wan had a different intent this time. He had a focus and a purpose. 

Before he settled too deep in his trance, he heard Cody whisper a faint I love you to him. Obi-Wan replied and allowed his mind to enter the living force. 

He let his mind settle on his commander’s body, looking past the surface to the insides. And what he saw took his breath away. The shock of the situation almost caused him to lose his focus in the force. 

Cody’s body was completely torn apart on the inside. The bacta had only managed to make superficial repairs, like putting duct tape over a fuel tank leak. 

Obi-Wan was yelling at himself. Why didn’t he just try to heal Cody sooner? Why had he waited until medicine failed him? 

Obi-Wan rooted himself deeper in the force and began his attempt to heal Cody. Obi-Wan only had rudimentary force heal training during his padawan years, and the war prevented him from furthering his studies in the area.   
Nevertheless, he attempted to put things right. It was…well, it was a mess. He was bent over the commander, pushing and arranging with all his heart, all his strength, but as the minutes bled into one another and the hours stretched on, Obi-Wan could feel no change in Cody’s condition. 

He accusingly called to the force, ‘why isn’t this working? He is your child, save him!’

He wasn’t sure, but it sounded like the force was asking him to trust it, telling him that what would happen would save Cody from the worst mistake of his life. 

And that was enough for Obi-Wan. He withdrew from his force meditation, thinking it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for the commander to be down for a few more days. If it would keep him from some fairly horrible mission or other, all the better for him.

Cody’s eyes were closed again. He was simply resting this time. Obi-Wan took his chair by the bedside, suddenly feeling a bit more cheerful. The force had asked him to trust it and trust it he shall. Cody was going to be just fine. 

And that’s when everything went to hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, I am so sorry guys. Only one more chapter left from here. I hope to have it done asap, but we all know how life is!  
> Mando'a note:  
> ner'jetii: my Jedi  
> ni ceta : colloquially means "I'm sorry," but more literally means "I kneel"


	6. Conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The end draws near.
> 
> A special thanks to all my discord friends who inspired this fic. I’m sure they are regretting corrupting me now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, HEED THE TAGS.

Obi-Wan stood up so fast his chair went flying. The machines surrounding Cody were screeching in despair. Obi-Wan reached into the force, yelling _what have you done? I trusted you!_

All the medics came rushing into the tent, Kix first, Terror after. Helix last. They were grabbing things off shelves, injecting Cody’s drip bag with medicine, doing chest compression's.

And that’s when Obi-Wan realized. Cody’s heart had stopped. His presence in the force was so faint it would have been unnoticeable to anyone but Obi-Wan. Cody was a whisper in the middle of a shouting match that was the living force. The medics were all panicked and losing their minds, trying their hardest to save their beloved commander and brother. Obi-Wan himself was caught in a torrent of pain and fear, horror and anxiety.

Obi-Wan found himself pushed to the side of the tent, losing his grip on his commander. The break of the physical contact between them severed Obi-Wan’s force connection too, and he was all but cut off from his love.

“Cody!” He yelled, trying to get back to his love’s side. He was caught in strong arms, clone arms, keeping him away as the medics tried in vain to fix their broken vod.

Obi-Wan hung limply in the arms of whoever it was. He couldn’t be bothered to look away from his dear one.

“Cody,” He whispered as the minutes dragged on with the machines still screaming and the medics still frantically rushing about the bed.

Finally, after what seemed like ages of waiting, the three looked at each other over Cody’s body and stepped back as one. The machines continued to scream the wrongness of the room, and the arms encircling Obi-Wan suddenly released.

He was quick to take the offered ground and stumbled over to Cody’s bed. He was unnaturally still, paler than ever.

“Cody? Cody, wake up,” Obi-Wan placed one hand on Cody’s cheek, the other over his heart. “Cody, sweetheart, you need to-”

Obi-Wan let out a pained noise. Through the force he felt a disturbance that was uncomfortably familiar. He felt the whisper that was Cody’s essence, his life, go silent.

Cody was dead.

Obi-Wan’s head fell back and he yelled his pain to the heavens. He fell to his knees in disbelief. As if through a fog he felt a hand on his shoulder, but he was too deep in sorrow to register it fully. A million images flashed across his head, a dozen moments where troopers died in his arms, finding their last comfort in him. And yet, his dearest clone of all, his _love_ , was denied that last right.

Cody died alone on a table. Satine died in his arms. Qui Gon died separated from him by a force field. Everyone he had ever loved had died in front of him, and despite all his skill, all his knowledge, he was powerless to save them.

He put his head down in his hands and reached out into the force, which was his first mistake.

Obi-Wan’s mind was so coated in pain and grief and _rage_ that he had no way to direct the power that surged through him. The force burst from his body and ripped around the tent, shaking the very ground, upending shelves, emptying boxes.

Someone tried to pull Obi-Wan to safety, but he was bolted to the earth. People fled the tent as the chaos erupted around them.

In the center of the storm was Obi-Wan, on his knees below his lover’s lifeless body, keening and sobbing. The tent was about to collapse completely when Obi-Wan felt a gentle pressure against his cheek, wiping away the tears streaming down.

“Cody?” He whispered, afraid to even hope.

“I’m here, _ner'jetii_. I’m here.” Obi-Wan looked up and saw the faintest trace of the grin he loved so well tinged with sadness and regret.

“Cody, I’m so sorry,” He gasped while reaching out. “Cody, I failed you.”

“No, _cyar’ika._ You did everything you could.” Cody’s spirit moved to engulf Obi-Wan’s body, leaving him with an overwhelming sense of love and acceptance, and peace.

Obi-Wan felt that he knew it was his time. He felt Cody’s preparedness to wait for him, greet him in the next step.

“I’ll be waiting. Take your time.”

And with those words, Cody vanished. Obi-Wan cried out once more with a throat raw from screaming before pulling back with the force, setting everything in its correct spot once more.

He stood on shaky knees and bent over Cody’s body in their final few precious seconds alone.

He reached under Cody’s blacks to take his necklace, the one with his wedding ring on it. After removing it from Cody’s neck, he slipped it on his own.

Mere seconds later he heard the tentative approach of footsteps outside the tent entrance.

It was time to face the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For what it is worth, I am sorry. Please feel free to scream at me. 
> 
> cyar'ika: dear one, beloved  
> ner'Jetii: my Jedi


End file.
